Image & Explanation (Explanation & above image from RachelsEnglish.com)
“This consonant is voiced. There are two ways to make this sound. In the first way, the front part of the tongue pulls back and up....The tongue can be stretched so it’s long and skinny. Or it can be pulled into itself so it’s fatter and thicker. And that’s what we want here…so it’s not as long. The back doesn’t move. This is happening in front. The middle part of the tongue lifts up towards the roof of the mouth. You can touch the sides of the tongue to the sides of the roof of the mouth here or to the inside or bottom of the side teeth here. The front part of the tongue is hanging in the middle of the mouth not touching anything…The R can also be made by flipping the tongue tip up. The lips flare the same way…Native speakers get the correct sound no matter the mouth position. But I found that non-native speakers often drop the jaw too much in this second method. And it makes the sound hollow.”
Consonants
"r" sound: / r /
RachelsEnglish.com, © 2017
Image & Explanation
(Explanation & above image from RachelsEnglish.com)
“This consonant is voiced. There are two ways to make this sound. In the first way, the front part of the tongue pulls back and up....The tongue can be stretched so it’s long and skinny. Or it can be pulled into itself so it’s fatter and thicker. And that’s what we want here…so it’s not as long. The back doesn’t move. This is happening in front. The middle part of the tongue lifts up towards the roof of the mouth. You can touch the sides of the tongue to the sides of the roof of the mouth here or to the inside or bottom of the side teeth here. The front part of the tongue is hanging in the middle of the mouth not touching anything…The R can also be made by flipping the tongue tip up. The lips flare the same way…Native speakers get the correct sound no matter the mouth position. But I found that non-native speakers often drop the jaw too much in this second method. And it makes the sound hollow.”
Teaching American English Pronunciation, Oxford, © 1992
Examples
Exercises